Three Young Goalies on Similar Quests for Stardom
Tuesday, November 30th, 1999In 2002, at just 17 years old, Jimmy Howard led the United States team to a Gold Medal at the IIHF World U18 Championships, posting a 1.33 goals against average and a .954 save percentage in 6 games. Following his stellar performances as a member of the U.S. National Team Development Program, Howard earned the Dave Peterson Goalie of the Year Award, establishing himself as the top goaltender prospect in USA Hockey. He continued his development for three seasons at the University of Maine, where he still holds single season and career school records for shutouts, goals against average, and save percentage. During the 2003-04 season, he set NCAA records for goals against average (1.19) and save percentage (.954), both of which still stand today. Howard was selected in the 2nd round (64th overall) in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings, and joined the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2005. He quickly established himself as the Griffins’ number one, and remained with the club, maturing and developing his skill-set, for four full seasons. In those four seasons, he made the AHL PlanetUSA All-Star Team twice, and was the Grand Rapids Griffins’ recipient of the AHL’s Man of the Year award twice as well.
For Antti Niemi, the road to the NHL was filled with much more adversity. (more…)